Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

NIJ recently celebrated a milestone birthday — 50 years of scientific efforts to advance the field of criminal justice. Now is a great time for us to look back at all that we’ve accomplished. You can read about some of our most groundbreaking research and accomplishments in the 50th Anniversary Issue of the NIJ Journal.

Given all we know, and still don’t know, about...

Convening Police Leaders and Researchers to Learn Promising Practices and to Inform Research Agenda

Director Muhlhausen's prepared remarks at the NIJ-hosted Opioid Research Summit.

NIJ Director Muhlhausen

Good morning and welcome to Washington, DC. It’s a privilege to host you here today at the National Institute of Justice. I’m particularly honored to have the Attorney General and the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General with...

Remarks by NIJ Principal Deputy Director Dr. Howard Spivak at the American Society of Crime Lab Director's 45th Annual Symposium.

I’m very pleased to be here, and bring you warm greetings and regrets from the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, Alan Hanson, who was obliged to stay in Washington today to attend to urgent Department business.

It’s a privilege...

Dr. Muhlhausen's remarks at the 2019 National Opioid and Emerging Drug Threats Policy and Practice Forum, which built off the momentum of the widespread stakeholder meetings convened to discuss the consequences of this national epidemic, including the impact it has had on public safety, public health, and the criminal justice response.

Good morning!

Thank you all for coming here so early, and in many...

I have dedicated my life to understanding and preventing violence. From my training as a physician, working on violence prevention at the Centers for Disease Control, and now at NIJ, I have seen the contribution of science to our understanding of how to prevent and address violence and its consequences.

NIJ helped changed the landscape of forensic science through our support of research and development...

Every year, there are millions of interactions between the public and the criminal justice system. Most of those interactions result in a legitimate or just outcome. However, that is not always the case. In the relatively rare instances when the outcome is not legitimate or just, it can be devastating for individuals, families, communities, and criminal justice professionals.

As with any complex system of agencies...

Thank you, and good morning. My name is Howard Spivak and I am the Principal Deputy Director of the National Institute of Justice, NIJ.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, NIJ is the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. We use science to inform and advance criminal justice policies and practices across the country. To do this, we provide...

...if the results of research are never effectively communicated to criminal justice practitioners, the relevance and utility of that research is severely diminished.

Howard Spivak, May 2017

The value of criminal justice research is inextricably tied to the extent to which it informs and improves policy and practice. If a research project fails to address the field’s priority questions, or if the results of research are...

Violence against American Indians and Alaska Natives is more common than violence against others — far more common than previous research has indicated. One of NIJ’s core missions is understanding and preventing violence using scientific methods that help policymakers and practitioners understand the full nature and extent of the problem. I am very proud of a study...

During my tenure at the National Institute of Justice, numerous high-profile incidents across the nation have illustrated the dangers and challenges of policing in the United States. The rigors of policing have become complicated by the expanding roles of the police that require officers to protect the nation against foreign and domestic threats...

In our personal lives, most of us do some research before we buy a new tool or piece of equipment. We want to make sure that what we buy works as it is supposed to and that we get our money’s worth. When criminal justice agencies purchase equipment, the stakes are higher. Equipment is costly, budgets are tight, and most importantly the lives of officers...

The National Institute of Justice’s Research Efforts Help Officers Rely on Their Equipment, Policies, and Procedures.

Our nation’s law enforcement officers are put in dangerous and stressful situations every day as they protect and serve their communities. Some of these dangers, such as gun violence, are obvious; whereas others, such as officer fatigue, are a hidden yet significant risk to an officer’s well-being.

As we...